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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – If it seems Karl Malone has stepped up
over the past two weeks, it's not because he's preparing for the
playoffs. The Mailman says it's because he wasn't feeling well
before that.
|  | | Utah Jazz forward Danny Manning had 11 points in 12 minutes of action. |
Malone scored 13 of his 26 points in the third quarter and
Donyell Marshall added 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Utah Jazz
beat the Houston Rockets 96-81 on Monday night.
In his last five games, Malone has scored at least 31 points
four times. But don't try to tell him it must mean he's focusing
for the playoffs.
"I try to be consistent the whole year," Malone said. "I went
through a week, about five games, where I wasn't feeling great.
After I got better, my numbers started getting better."
John Stockton had 13 points and seven assists as the Jazz, who
have five games remaining, pulled within one-half game of the Los
Angeles Lakers for the third-best record in the Western Conference.
Steve Francis scored 26 points to lead Houston, including 14 in
the first quarter as the Rockets led 18-12 after the opening
period. But he had little support other than reserve Matt Bullard's
11 points.
"We missed a lot of easy shots," Francis said. "Our guys who
normally score for us couldn't put the ball in the bucket and that
really hurt us."
Utah was slow-footed in the first half and it didn't seem
impossible for a while that the Jazz could lose at home for the
14th time this season. The franchise hasn't reached that mark since
1985-86.
But Malone scored six points as Utah opened the second half with
a 14-2 run, then came out of a timeout with a 9-3 burst. That
turned a 41-38 halftime deficit into a 52-46 lead with 7:02 to play
in the third quarter.
"We really picked it up on the defensive end," Malone said.
"We went inside with the basketball and got them back on their
heels. We were really aggressive on the defensive end."
Utah added baskets by Marshall, Stockton, Russell and Malone,
plus a technical foul free throw by Stockton to build a 61-50 lead.
"We had a pretty good battling first half, then we had a
horrible third quarter," said Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich.
"That was the whole game."
It was 74-57 going into the final period and the advantage grew
as large as 81-61 when John Starks hit a 3-pointer four minutes
later, sending the Rockets to their eighth straight loss in Salt
Lake City.
"The level of intensity at the defensive end was a huge part,"
Stockton said. "It's all connected, but it seems to start with
defense for us."
Danny Manning had 11 and Bryon Russell scored 10 for the Jazz.
Utah needed one like this after losing twice at home last week
to two potential playoff opponents, the Lakers and Kings. The Jazz
rebounded by winning at Dallas on Saturday and carried the momentum
to the second half against Houston.
It's been an up-and-down season for Utah, which now goes into a
three-game road trip to Milwaukee, Chicago and Minnesota.
"The race in the West is very close, so this is an important
road trip," Manning said. "We want to win as many games as we can
going into the playoffs."
Game notes
Houston's Shandon Anderson, who played on Utah's NBA Finals teams in 1997 and 1998, went scoreless until early in the second
half. He finished 1-of-6 for two points in 18 minutes. ...
Tomjanovich is one victory from tying Larry Costello (430 wins) for
26th place on the NBA's career list. ... Houston swept the Central
Division, but is 3-13 against the top four teams in the Western
Conference. ... Utah's Greg Ostertag lost his false teeth while
battling for a first-half rebound. Unable to put them back in his
mouth, he flipped them toward the Rockets bench. "When it happened
once before in a high school game, I threw them into a group of
cheerleaders," he explained.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Houston Clubhouse
Utah Clubhouse
RECAPS
Philadelphia 108
Boston 95
Detroit 81
Atlanta 69
New York 113
Charlotte 98
Indiana 100
Washington 78
Utah 96
Houston 81
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